John Nicholson

John Nicholson (1757 – December 5, 1800 ) was a Welsh-born American financier and government official who served as Pennsylvania's comptroller general from 1782 to 1794. He played a key role in managing the Commonwealth's finances in the post-Revolutionary era but became widely known for his land speculation activities and eventual financial collapse.

In 1778, Nicholson became clerk to the Board of Treasury under the Continental Congress.

Early in his time in office, Nicholson had to deal with depreciation certificates issued during the war. These were promises of future payment given to Revolutionary War soldiers and public servants to make up for the rapid decline in value of the Continental paper currency they had received.

In 1792, Nicholson negotiated with the federal government on behalf of the state to purchase the tract known as the Erie Triangle. The land was ceded by the federal government to Pennsylvania in exchange for a monetary payment, giving the state access to a freshwater port on Lake Erie. While negotiating the deal, Nicholson, along with Robert Morris, Aaron Burr, agents of the Holland Land Company, and other individual and institutional investors, formed the Pennsylvania Population Company. This front organization arranged to purchase all 390 parcels of land in the Erie Triangle, marking Nicholson's first major venture into land speculation.

Other offices held Nicholson was also appointed to two other offices which he held at the same time as Comptroller General. In 1785 he became Receiver General, with responsibility for coordinating state revenues, and in 1787 he was made Escheator General, managing estates confiscated from Loyalists.

Political views and party alignment As Comptroller General, Nicholson had to manage the state's transition to a new fiscal system under the federal Constitution. Nicholson often argued that Pennsylvania should keep control of its own fiscal matters, and he clashed with Federalist members of the legislature who wanted closer coordination with the federal government on financial matters.

Controversy, impeachment, and resignation Criticism of Nicholson increased in the early 1790s. In 1793, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives impeached him on several counts of high misdemeanors. The central charge was that he had certified certificates as valid debts when no such debts existed, which was said to have cost the treasury more than £5,100.

In 1794, Nicholson and Morris created another major venture, the Asylum Company, with the aim of settling French émigrés on a tract of 1,000,000 acres in northern Pennsylvania, in addition to land they already controlled in Luzerne, Northumberland, and Northampton.

Share certificate issued by the North American Land Company on March 16, 1795. In 1795, Nicholson, Morris, and Greenleaf consolidated their holdings into the North American Land Company (NALC), described by historian A. M. Sakolski as the "largest land trust ever known in America." The company claimed more than of land across several states, including in Pennsylvania, in Kentucky, in Virginia, in North Carolina, in South Carolina, and in Georgia. Authorized to issue 30,000 shares at $100 each, the company promised investors a 6 percent annual dividend, with Nicholson and his partners placing their own shares in escrow as collateral. Nicholson and his partners also received commissions on land sales, while Greenleaf served as company secretary.

Almost immediately, NALC encountered financial difficulties. The company was unable to issue its full allotment of shares because many land titles proved defective, and in some cases, the properties were barren or otherwise misrepresented. To cover obligations, Nicholson and his partners often guaranteed one another's notes, which soon flooded the market at deep discounts. By 1798, more than $10 million in their personal notes were trading at one-eighth of face value. The partners also failed to meet their contractual obligations to the D.C. Commissioners for development of the capital city lots, leading to litigation and loss of properties.

Relations among the three speculators deteriorated rapidly. Nicholson, in particular, grew hostile toward Greenleaf and began publishing accusations against him in print.

Nicholson was imprisoned for debt in Philadelphia, where he died on December 5, 1800, reportedly owing more than four million dollars. Later court cases confirmed that his heirs were minors at the time of his death and soon left Pennsylvania.

Personal life

Nicholson was married to Hannah Duncan.

Legacy Nicholson's estate remained entangled for decades after his death. In 1843, Pennsylvania created a special "Nicholson Court of Pleas" to adjudicate the complex claims of creditors.

Several places in Pennsylvania were named in his honor, including the borough of Nicholson, Pennsylvania (incorporated 1875) and townships in both Wyoming County and Fayette County.